Working Magsafe / Magnetic Qi Wireless Charging Pad Install! - DIY Writeup

[CommodoreAmiga]

Warning: Be careful when pulling up on the rubber mat... It's stuck pretty well to the Rivian Qi charger, and the cover of my charger came off with the mat!

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[CommodoreAmiga]

Hmm... Maybe I misunderstood the kit... My phone does not magnetize to the new pads through the Rivian rubber mat (I did remove the cover that was stuck to it). The phone snaps pretty strongly against the charger, directly, but if the pad is in between them then there is zero attraction. I thought these chargers were chosen because they were strong enough to work through the stock rubber pad?

 

[RWerksman]

Warning: Be careful when pulling up on the rubber mat... It's stuck pretty well to the Rivian Qi charger, and the cover of my charger came off with the mat!

Holy moly - that's ridiculous! Mine took a ton of effort to come off. It couldn't have been snapped in correctly if it pried apart using just double sided tape.

Word of caution though - be careful putting it back on. There are pins on the top (shown at the bottom right hand corner in the picture) and they have to be aligned correctly. When installed, the retention clips will audibly seat back into place.

Hmm... Maybe I misunderstood the kit... My phone does not magnetize to the new pads through the Rivian rubber mat (I did remove the cover that was stuck to it). The phone snaps pretty strongly against the charger, directly, but if the pad is in between them then there is zero attraction. I thought these chargers were chosen because they were strong enough to work through the stock rubber pad?

They have to be aligned correctly to work, and a thick case will not help. My recommendation on aligning is:

1. Install everything except for the rubber mat.
2. Get the phone very close, attached the charger, align the phone where you want it to sit. Take note of where the pad is, remove it from the phone, and position it correctly.
3. Install the mat and test.

It should have just enough pull to keep the phone in place, assuming you have a reasonable case installed. They were chosen because of the stronger grip, but the phone will lift away pretty easily.


EDIT - Also make sure you have the correct side of the charger pointed up (the other side doesn't magnetize) and that you peel the plastic off of it.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

They have to be aligned correctly to work, and a thick case will not help. My recommendation on aligning is:

1. Install everything except for the rubber mat.
2. Get the phone very close, attached the charger, align the phone where you want it to sit. Take note of where the pad is, remove it from the phone, and position it correctly.
3. Install the mat and test.

It should have just enough pull to keep the phone in place, assuming you have a reasonable case installed. They were chosen because of the stronger grip, but the phone will lift away pretty easily.

EDIT - Also make sure you have the correct side of the charger pointed up (the other side doesn't magnetize) and that you peel the plastic off of it.

I haven't assembled the kit yet. I'm just playing with it on my desk, right now. My phone snaps to the charger really well if the pad isn't between them (not even using a case, yet) but with the pad in between there is zero attraction. Since it's on my desk, I can move both the charger and phone around and there isn't a position where there's any attraction. The phone DOES charge if I manually get it perfectly aligned... But I'm concerned that may not be possible in the vehicle, while driving. I was really hoping for a little magnetic "snap" action to both ensure alignment when putting the phone down, and keep it in place while driving.

I guess I'll give it an install in the vehicle and see if it will charge reliably even without the magnetism.

 

[RWerksman]

I haven't assembled the kit yet. I'm just playing with it on my desk, right now. My phone snaps to the charger really well if the pad isn't between them (not even using a case, yet) but with the pad in between there is zero attraction. Since it's on my desk, I can move both the charger and phone around and there isn't a position where there's any attraction. The phone DOES charge if I manually get it perfectly aligned... But I'm concerned that may not be possible in the vehicle, while driving. I was really hoping for a little magnetic "snap" action to both ensure alignment when putting the phone down, and keep it in place while driving.

I guess I'll give it an install in the vehicle and see if it will charge reliably even without the magnetism.

There is no snap - it's more of a tug.

 

[RWerksman]

Installation instructions:

You'll need two tools to install the pad. One is a T-20 torx, and the other is a trim tool or similar.

First step is to remove the rubber pad. It has four little retaining feet toward the front of the truck, at the bottom / front of the bowl, and two protrusions at the rear that are designed to slip into openings. It is also double-sided taped down.

I'd recommend pulling back the front of the front most of the rubber pad and peeling it out of the retaining feet and off of the double-sided tape - up and slightly backward.

Once it's off, just set it aside. You'll need it later.

Next step is to remove the pad itself. It's installed into a plastic assembly, and both come out together. Both are secured to the truck via three tension clips in the front, and a similar slot / opening setup (like the rubber pad) in the rear.

To remove, insert your trim tool into one of three clips at the front of the pad and gently pull toward the rear of the truck while lifting the pad upward. In my truck, this was slightly difficult the first time - just be patient and you'll get it. One thing to note is that the clips might catch just slightly on the wood surround, so you may need to bend them back just a bit to clear it.

Once it's dislodged as shown in the last photo - DO NOT PULL IT AWAY. Instead, gently rotate it over and disconnect the power plug on the back.

Next up - remove the four torx bolts from the bottom of the pad. Here is where you need the T-20.

When you remove them, you can set the old charging pad aside.

The other half - the mounting assembly - will be reused. I suggest screwing the T-20 screws back into the assembly to keep them safe - just be sure that don't over-tighten as you're just screwing into plastic.

The next step is to start the reinstallation by clipping the assembly back into the truck. Ensure you seat the protrusions at the back of the assembly into the correct openings. If you did it right, it'll just pop back into place.

With that done - you're almost complete. All that is needed now is for you to drop the new charging pad into place, plug it in, and reinstall the rubber pad back over it. The new (much, much) lighter setup stays in place by gravity and the rubber pad above it holds the entire thing in place. Make sure you have the entire thing inside of the assembly, NOT like what is shown in the next picture:

Make sure that you align the pads to where your phones will be located as they will not freely slide along and self adjust. You may need to adjust the wiring underneath in order to position the pad correctly. Depending on the size of your phone, you may want to have the top of it toward the rear of the truck to make better contact too.

The pad will have enough magnetism to lightly hold the phone in place and prevent it from sliding left to right. It's been tested on a few phones and all the 'MagSafe Compatible' cases of a reasonable size work, from iPhone 13 Mini to iPhone 13 Big Chungus.

If it's not charging or holding in place, i'd suggest ensuring the pad is in the correct location, and then if that doesn't work, taking off the case. While working with most cases is anticipated, it's not guaranteed and you may need to make a change to get it to function as expected.

Happy charging, my dudes. Feedback is very welcome!

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Installation complete.

I am using some painters tape to hold the charging pucks in a suitable location. It's ugly, but you can't see it once the rubber pad is in place, and the tape allows easy adjustment, in the future.

Unfortunately, these do not have much "range" and seem to need to be locked in to a specific phone. For example, the position that charges my iPhone Max doesn't work for my wife's non-Max iPhone. I also can't get any magnetic effect (not even a weak force) through the Rivian rubber pad. But the phone does recognize the charger (even through the rubber) so hopefully it'll at least charge better than the stock charging pad. I'll keep an eye on my SoC while driving, over the next few days.

I decided to go with "Compass Yellow" for the zip ties. I also added a glob of hot-melt glue to mitigate rattles and provide a little strain relief.

All said, it's a nice kit, and many thanks to @RWerksman for putting the time/effort into engineering it, sourcing parts, and then selling it.

 

[MisterTea]

Installation complete.

I am using some painters tape to hold the charging pucks in a suitable location. It's ugly, but you can't see it once the rubber pad is in place, and the tape allows easy adjustment, in the future.

Unfortunately, these do not have much "range" and seem to need to be locked in to a specific phone. For example, the position that charges my iPhone Max doesn't work for my wife's non-Max iPhone. I also can't get any magnetic effect (not even a weak force) through the Rivian rubber pad. But the phone does recognize the charger (even through the rubber) so hopefully it'll at least charge better than the stock charging pad. I'll keep an eye on my SoC while driving, over the next few days.

I decided to go with "Compass Yellow" for the zip ties. I also added a glob of hot-melt glue to mitigate rattles and provide a little strain relief.

All said, it's a nice kit, and many thanks to @RWerksman for putting the time/effort into engineering it, sourcing parts, and then selling it.

I missed the original order window, but I promise to follow your directions if you let me buy one… ?

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I missed the original order window, but I promise to follow your directions if you let me buy one… ?

Would you like to buy mine?

I did some tests driving around and I really do applaud @RWerksman for the effort, but I've decided to go back to the stock Rivian charging pad.

If anyone missed out on the original buy and would like one, I am offering mine for sale. It is fully assembled and tested. I'm not looking to make any profit. I paid $108.65 so if someone is willing to give me that (plus actual costs for me to ship to you) then that'd be great for me (and hopefully someone else, too). PM me if interested. Technically this is discounted if you consider that it's assembled ;-)

 

[onesoil]

Would you like to buy mine?

I did some tests driving around and I really do applaud @RWerksman for the effort, but I've decided to go back to the stock Rivian charging pad.

If anyone missed out on the original buy and would like one, I am offering mine for sale. It is fully assembled and tested. I'm not looking to make any profit. I paid $108.65 so if someone is willing to give me that (plus actual costs for me to ship to you) then that'd be great for me (and hopefully someone else, too). PM me if interested. Technically this is discounted if you consider that it's assembled ;-)

Did you already sell this? I’ll buy it if you haven’t! It’s not letting me PM you… Maybe you can PM me?

 

[shumdit]

I was hoping for an update. Ordered last week but tracking still says it has not been received by the carrier from you?

 

[RWerksman]

I was hoping for an update. Ordered last week but tracking still says it has not been received by the carrier from you?

It's Postal Service things. If you've received a tracking number, it's on the way.

 

[Big_Ike]

I was on vacation and missed the first batch!

 

[cbuckley]

I was on vacation and missed the first batch!

There’s one for sale on this forum from someone that changed their mind.

 

[RWerksman]

Final shipments are prepped and ready to go. They will be picked up tomorrow. At this point, I have zero pending orders.

If you're looking for one, I highly suggest snagging the used one for sale. The next full batch won't be until September. (if ever...)

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